HARRY SITTLER
If you remember one of Harry Sittler’s
earliest Modifieds or you see a picture of it – you will see
the words Mud, Sweat and Gears written across the back of
it. The St. Catharines veteran driver is one of Merrittville
Speedway’s unsung heroes with a career spanning 5 decades
and like so many put a lot of Blood, Sweat and Tears into
the sport they loved so much.
If it weren’t for friend Cecil Kerr who
introduced him to the sport – Harry Sittler might not have
raced in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000nds. Eventually
becoming a mechanic by day for 38 years until his recent
retirement – his real passion became working on race cars by
night and of course driving them.
While living in Queenston at the time,
Harry’s dad Andrew would flat tow Harry’s first cars to
rural Thorold to compete in the Jalopy Division starting in
1961. As the Jalopies became Late Models, Sittler would
follow the progression still in a full fendered car until
1974 and his first year in the Modified Division driving for
car owner Ray Stevens and working at his Service Station
during the day.
Harry and Ray became close friends from
then on and would team up several times. In the late 70’s,
Ray’s son Brian would move into the Modified Division from
Late Models. With Harry seeing that Ray would need to focus
on Brian’s development, Harry would now be in a car for
owners Wilf and Elsie Fiegel until Harry would purchase his
first Modified from the Stevens’ – a former Olsen Chassis
raced by Brian.
Harry quickly got a rude introduction to
being a car owner as an incident between himself, Davey
Moore and Mark Shadwell found Harry upside down on his roof.
Back in the day as much as it is today,
sponsorship of a race car can help a driver and his team so
much. Harry would make contact with Pete Cosco in regards to
putting Cosco Haulage on his race car. It was a call that
would see the now owner of Humberstone Speedway get his
start in racing.
Sponsorship led to Pete and his wife
Linda becoming car owners in a career that has seen them
field or sponsor cars including Harry, Ron Cosco, Curt and
the late Trevor Wilkens, Don and Jeff McGinnis and others
including Bobcat of Hamilton 358 Modified Driver Chris
Steele and the Peters Excavating Late Model for Adam Ferri
today.
From the Cosco era Harry would move to a
Colin Slade owned car before once again driving for himself
in the early 90’s. An early season accident in 1992 at
Ransomville Speedway left Harry injured and he spent much of
the summer recuperating.
Most would have not gotten back behind
the wheel of a race car but later that summer while he was
still in a wheelchair – he had a new race car waiting in the
garage. Race Teams and Race Fans are a caring family. The
fans at Ransomville and Merrittville took up a collection
and the proceeds were enough to get him back on track when
he was ready.
One of his career highlights came three
years after that almost career ending wreck at Ransomville
with a June win redemption surely – also ending a 13 year
drought at the Big R. Or maybe it was a win here at
Merrittville in his 37H that was owned by the Western New
York McCreary Tire Dealer at the time H&H Speed and Auto.
“As always … you have to do what you have
to do to win,” remembers Harry’s son Andrew, “it was
imperative that Dad stand in front of the right rear … we
had to hide that it was an M&H Tire!”
The only comment on that comes from today
– lol! There was no Hoosier or any kind of tire rule back
then.
Or was it in 1990 at Merrittville about
the time the switch was made to the 358 Small Block engines
from Big Blocks?
When the Syracuse Qualifier 90 lap event
was in the books that season – Harry was the highest
finishing Merrittville Small Block and would go to the Moody
Mile that October. If you have ever been to the
October Classic and remember the 1978 Edition getting
delayed until April you might remember one of the most
horrific backstretch crashes in the race’s history. If not -
look for some photos. Harry was in that field but safely
behind the carnage of twisted metal and shattered dreams.
Joe Marotta probably called that event and it was him that
gave Harry the ‘Kooky Canook’ nickname from when he was a
regular at the Weedsport now Cayuga County Fair Speedway.
While running at Ransomville and
Merrittville Speedways regularly, Harry and Ray would travel
to wherever there was a race. Away from the track, Harry’s
mechanic duties began at the old Canadian Tire on Riordon
Street in St. Catharines. They didn’t want him racing so one
Friday he packed up all his tools and quit. “I
remember mom trying to get Dad going off to work the next
Monday morning,” reflected Andrew, “all Dad said was Friday
was my last day.”
After 8 years at that location, Harry
would ‘transfer’ to the Glendale Avenue Canadian Tire where
he spent 30 years and that location and others would embrace
his racing – Canadian Tire logos would soon be on Harry’s
cars. Harry’s car owners over the years also included
Bill Morden and as his career wound down – somehow his son
Andrew who today has Ken Cosgrove in the familiar #37 after
Wayne Conn and Boyd MacTavish. Andrew also spent time
behind the wheel of a race car – starting out in the Street
Stock Division sharing a car with former Merrittville
Champion Pat McGrath before trying a Modified Lite and
Modified himself.
Harry and Linda Sittler had 4 children
with Andrew having two older sisters Tammy and Patti and
Jodi who is a year younger than him. The Sittlers and
Stevens were so close that Andrew while named after his
grandfather has as a middle name Raymond while Jodi’s is Lee
after Ray’s widow. While the girls were always fans – Andrew
has made quite a name for himself in the sport as well.
While Andrew would crew for his dad when
he was old enough … crew over the years for Harry were Jeff
Timlock, Don Jeffries who still helps Pete Cosco today, his
brother in law Rocky Outhwaite and Carl Game. “Dad
stops into our shop all the time,” says Andrew, “he likes to
have his say with the car … what he sees and what he thinks
it needs … and you know – most times he’s right!”
While he concentrated on his own career
Harry was always willing to help anyone. He was responsible
for getting former drivers Harley Turner and Carl Game into
the sport. So much that as a team at one point with Harley
in the Mini Stocks, Carl in the Late Models and Harry in the
Modifieds … the only number that would work in all three
divisions was #37. A number that would stick with
Harry throughout his almost 45 years as a driver.
Harry was honored in the early 90’s with
an Achievement Award from the FOAR Score Fan Club but
tonight it’s the Merrittville Speedway Reunion Committee’s
turn to welcome Harry Sittler to the L. St. Amand
Enterprises Wall of Fame!